Build Nevada Construction
    Pre-Apprenticeship Program

The Build Nevada Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Program is designed to prepare local unemployed and underemployed youth and adults to succeed in apprenticeships and construction employment. Operated by Nevada Partners, the program is a partnership with construction contractors and unions, apprenticeship programs and educators, and the workforce system.

Begun in spring 2008, Build Nevada responds to the needs of the commercial construction sector, a critical element of the Southern Nevada economy that offers trades jobs with good earning capacities and benefits. To gain the extensive training needed for these highly skilled positions, people must typically be accepted into a joint apprenticeship program, which requires passing skills tests (with an emphasis on math) and interviews. Build Nevada's intensive 15-week course gives students the knowledge, skills, and background to be admitted to such an apprenticeship.

Upon entry into the program, students sign a strict code of conduct holding them to the standards that will ensure success in their careers. Build Nevada includes training in leadership and resiliency, work readiness, learning strategies, tools and materials identification, and life skills. Students take college-level construction math/algebra, meeting the minimum standard for entry into the electrical, plumbing, and sheet metal programs. Because most apprentices are required to have a high school diploma or GED, or to obtain one within the first one to two years of the apprenticeship, Build Nevada provides GED preparation for those students who do not have a high school diploma. In addition, students receive certifications in OSHA 10, fork lift, scissor lift, boom lift, and first aid.

Students leave the classroom to attend a week-long "Construction Boot Camp," where they work outdoors at a mock construction site performing many of the tasks required of construction workers. They also visit apprenticeship programs of interest, complete practice applications, and participate in practice interviews.

Once they graduate from Build Nevada, participants compete for placement in apprenticeship programs and receive follow-up and retention services to ensure success. After gaining acceptance to a program, students start working in the construction industry at the wages and benefits established by the appropriate Joint Apprenticeship Council and State Apprenticeship Council. By equipping local residents to meet the needs of the construction economy, Build Nevada contributes to the economic recovery and viability of Southern Nevada. In the first nine classes, 158 students have graduated from the program.

Directors of apprenticeship programs and employers are increasingly recognizing the strong return on investment that Build Nevada grads bring, based on their dedication and discipline. Even in this economic crisis, Build Nevada graduates have achieved placement in construction apprenticeships including Electrical, Sheet Metal, Laborer, Plumber-Pipefitter, Painters, Floor Coverer, Heavy Equipment Operators, and Roofers programs, and many graduates are working in the emerging green sector as certified residential weatherization installers.